History Podcast and Blog

The first Teddy Bear was the brain child of Morris Michtom who was inspired by the political cartoon above. The cartoon was drawn by Clifford K. Berryman and called “Drawing the Line in Mississippi,” where President Theodore Roosevelt is depicted showing compassion for a small bear cub. Michtom liked the cartoon and showed it to his wife, Rose. Rose went to create the teddy bear. On February 15, 1903 the Russian Jewish immigrant placed the little teddy bear in his shop window at 404 Tompkins Avenue, New York.

It was donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History where it is currently on display. After the creation of the bear in late 1902, the sale of the bears was so brisk that Michtom created the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. Through many mergers the company was eventually part of Mattel.

The very first gold record ever given to a musical artist was from RCA Victor to Glenn Miler for his 1.2 million copies sold of Chattanooga Choo Choo. The idea of gold records were to publicize the large sales records that artist had achieved. Glenn Miller’s gold record was given to him on February 11, 1942, two years before he would disappear over the English channel serving his country in WWII.

It was until 1958 that an industry level award was created when the Recording Industry of Association of America (RIAA) introduced their gold record program for records of any kind that achieve one million dollars in revenue.

December 17, 1903, 110 years ago, the Wright brothers (Orville & Wilbur) make the first human flight. Although they were not the first to make and test an experimental plane, they were the first to create controls that made fixed-wing flight possible. The control, called three-axis control, allowed the brothers to both steer and maintain equilibrium of the plane. Many of us know that the brother’s gained their skills while working in a bike shop, but how many of you know they also worked at a printing press? Who among you knows the name Charlie Taylor? He was another employee at the bike shop that the brother’s worked at. He was the one responsible for creating the engine in the plane.

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